


tunnel vision dreams of the future

by ivyalexandrias



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eldritch Lyfrassir Edda, M/M, No Beta We Die Like The Mechs, Nonbinary Lyfrassir Edda, On Hiatus, Post-Canon Fix-It, Reunions, Sadly, Self-Indulgent, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, THATS RIGHT I CAN USE THAT TAG NOW >:), They/Them Pronouns for Lyfrassir Edda, also just so we're clear the loki isn't sentient like aurora., as in: the yggdrasil system is still fucked and the mechanisms still die like at the end of dttms, but the mechs get better :), dont think about it too hard, listen i MISS THEM, lyf names their ship after loki ill fight you on this, notice how i changed the relationship tags (:, the bifrost is like some weird fucked up mix of the eye and the spiral in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyalexandrias/pseuds/ivyalexandrias
Summary: “Okay, let’s start over.” They stick out their hand for him to shake. “Lyfrassir Edda, they/them, captain of the starship Loki. You are…?” The other man takes their hand, shaking it firmly.“Drumbot Brian, he/him. The former pilot of the starship Aurora.” Lyf stares at him for a long moment, then just groans, burying their face in their hands, ignoring Brian’s confused noise.
Relationships: Drumbot Brian & Lyfrassir Edda, Drumbot Brian & Nastya Rasputina, eventual polymechs + lyf, very subtly implied nastyaroura
Comments: 42
Kudos: 98





	1. drumbot

**Author's Note:**

> HI.... i have mechs brainrot and i love lyf so heres this. thanks to everyone on discord for enabling me.

“Uh, Cap? You might wanna come and take a look at this.” Lyf glances up from where they’d been studying a map of a nearby star system. Chris is leaning against the doorway of their bedroom, looking equal parts confused and urgent. They stand, rolling the map up and replacing it in its place on the wall.   
  
“What?” Chris just shakes her head, gesturing for them to follow. They do, frowning as they’re led towards one of the starboard windows, a great big one that spans most of a wall, providing an excellent view of the stars. And... a metal man floating by the ship. Oh. That’s… probably what she wanted to show them. Lyf watches him for a long moment, about to write it off as an automaton who’d been cast out of an airlock, when the man’s eyes meet theirs, and  _ oh _ , he is very much still alive.

That’s about all they need to spur themselves into action. Chris remains by the door to the airlock as they slip inside, shivering instinctively as they open the door to outside, tying a cable around their waist as they push off the edge of the ship towards the man, who had drifted almost directly into their path, thankfully.

They’d learned several decades ago that space suits were more of a convenience than a necessity for them. Sure, they  _ could  _ die in space, but it took them about 20 minutes, and they’d just come back anyway. So, when they had to perform routine maintenance on the outside of the ship, they usually went without a suit. (However, because of their poor time management, other crew members had been forced to retrieve their body several times after they’d underestimated how long something would take. It had become a rite of passage on the  _ Loki  _ at this point.)

They reach out a hand to grab the other man’s arm, but he’s just out of reach. They sigh, then immediately wince as ice creeps down their throat. They concentrate for a moment, manifesting several tentacles behind them, lashing them around the metal man, and yanking him towards them. He looks slightly startled by this, jerking at the first touch of their tentacles. They pull him close enough that they can wrap an arm around him, instead using their tentacles to pull the two of them back into the airlock. The door to the outside shuts and gravity kicks back in, leaving them both to slam onto the hard floor of the ship. They wince, rolling over onto their side, dismissing their tentacles for now. 

The metal man’s joints creak slightly as he gets up, stiff metal scraping against itself. He groans slightly, and his voice is surprisingly human. Lyf stands, brushing themself off before offering a hand. He takes it hesitantly, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Lyf steps back, gesturing for Chris to open the door to the inside of the ship, which she does, letting both of them inside. 

The metal man doesn’t speak until Lyf has him sat down in the kitchen. They glance back at him, watching as he scans the room. The frost that had crept over his joints had mostly disappeared, and when he moves, it’s much more natural. When Lyf speaks, it startles him enough that he knocks his elbow on the table, wincing slightly at the metallic clang that sounds at the motion.   
  
“So, you mind telling me what you were doing floating through space? Your crew throw you out there?” He immediately shakes his head, eyes widening slightly.

“No, no, they wouldn’t. Er- they actually would, and they  _ have _ , but not in a malicious way. No, I did that to myself.” Lyf stares at him for a long moment, raising an eyebrow. Okay, so he’s suicidal, got it.

“Okay, let’s start over.” They stick out their hand for him to shake. “Lyfrassir Edda, they/them, captain of the starship  _ Loki _ . You are…?” The other man takes their hand, shaking it firmly. 

“Drumbot Brian, he/him. The former pilot of the starship  _ Aurora _ .” Lyf stares at him for a long moment, then just groans, burying their face in their hands, ignoring Brian’s confused noise.

-

“Okay, so… the Mechanisms are dying? I thought that was like, their whole thing, that they couldn’t die.” Lyf frowns at Brian, who sits across from them at one of the tables in the room that had been unofficially declared as the mess hall. He takes a long sip of his tea before continuing.

“Yes. Immortality is a lie we told the universe, and the universe believed us, but every lie is revealed eventually. Until you found me, I think I was… actually dying. I could feel it. My heart was about to stop beating, after so many millennia.” Lyf shakes their head, taking a drink of their tea.

“So, what changed? Why didn’t you just… die anyways?” Brian shrugs, copper skin glinting in the light of a nearby sun filtering in from outside. He drums his fingers absently on the table, a nervous stim Lyf recognizes well enough from their days as an Inspector.

“Alright, we can circle back to that. You’re  _ sure  _ none of the others are with you?” Brian chuckles lightly, leaning back in his seat.

“I assure you, Lyfrassir. Unless Nastya and I somehow crossed paths as we both drifted through space, I’m the only one you’ll run into.” They sigh, relaxing slightly.

  
“No offense, but you don’t know how glad I am to hear that. I think I could go the rest of my life without hearing a violin again and it’ll be too soon.” That draws a genuine laugh from Brian, the other man’s eyes sparkling.

“Ah, I assume you’re familiar with Marius, then?” He pauses, and recognition sparks in his gaze. “ _ Oh!  _ You’re the Inspector that those three wouldn’t shut up about! I know your name rang a bell!” Lyf rolls their eyes.

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m not much of a cop now, but still.” Brian nods, studying them for a long moment. They can see the gears turning in his mind, and they wait patiently for him to formulate whatever he’s trying to say.

“Let me know if this is too personal of a question, but… I would have figured you’d be dead by now. I mean- none of Ivy’s information indicated that Asgardians had extended lifespans, and it’s been several centuries since the destruction of the Yggdrasil system-” Lyf winces at the mention of their old home. “-and I would definitely call that an ‘extended lifespan’.” Lyf shrugs, taking another sip of their tea (which, they’ll admit, they added some whiskey to), thinking over their answer for a moment.

“I mean, I’m sure you’re aware that tentacles aren’t exactly standard Asgardian biology, and most of us can’t go into the void of space without protective gear.” They sigh gently to themself. “I didn’t get out of the Yggdrasil system before the Bifrost took the whole thing. It didn’t claim me, not completely, but it did… change me. One of the side effects of being exposed to it, apparently, was immortality. Or something close to it, at least. I can’t die, not permanently. I’ve got all sorts of fucked up biology, and I’ve got weird… eldritch… knowledge powers? I’m really not sure how the last one works, if I’m being honest. I kind of just roll with it.” Brian leans forwards, intrigued.

“Knowledge powers? What do you mean?” Lyf frowns, waving a hand vaguely in the air. They still didn’t exactly know how to explain it, and they’d been living with them for over a thousand years.

“It’s… hard to explain. Sometimes I can just- I just  _ know  _ things. It’s usually helpful for finding our crew members if we lose them in a crowd, or tracking down specific parts for the ship.” Lyf decides  _ not  _ to mention that they’d been using it to keep an eye on Marius occasionally. Brian doesn’t need to know that. “Think of it like… one of those puzzles where you have to pick out a specific object from an image. Once you find it the first time, or you have a vague idea of where it is, it’s a lot easier to find it again, but it takes more effort to find a different object, because you’re not accustomed to it. I can find my crew easily, because I’m used to them, and I can pick them out easier, but if I had to, say, find  _ you  _ in a crowd, it would be more difficult, because I don’t know you as well.”

Brian nods, looking like he has about a million more questions, and Lyf is glad that he seems to stop himself from asking them right away. They go to say something else, but their eye is caught by a familiar flash of white hair in their peripheral. They glance up, sighing as they notice Chris watching the two of them intently. The quartermaster meets their gaze, and raises an eyebrow. Behind her, they can also see Jack, who looks just as interested. 

  
They roll their eyes, finishing their tea before standing up. “Alright, those two aren’t going to go away. I suppose if you’re spending any time with us, you should probably meet the crew.” Brian does the same, setting his mug on the table, mirroring their movements. He looks genuinely interested to meet the crew, and Lyf decides to themselves that, if they  _ have  _ to deal with another Mechanism, Brian definitely isn’t the worst one they could have wound up with.


	2. engineer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Come on, this really isn’t necessary.” They grumble, shifting their weight slightly, eyeing the closest door. The shop owner presses the gun harder against their head, and they hear his hiss of frustration.
> 
> “You stole from me. I don’t take kindly to thieves.” He growls, and Lyf rolls their eyes. They’re so caught up in trying to formulate a way to not get shot that they don’t notice the sound of quiet footsteps behind them. There’s the sound of a gun cocking, and they squeeze their eyes shut, ready for the momentary flash of pain, but it doesn’t come. There is the sound of a gun firing, and they wince, the sound painfully loud, especially with their sensitive Asgardian hearing. 
> 
> Slowly, Lyf lowers their hands, turning around. They’re greeted with a grinning Brian, still holding his gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one goes out to my friends on the gay space pirates server ty for enabling my self indulgant bullshit mwah

Lyf sighs, raising their hands in surrender. The shop owner, unfortunately, doesn’t remove his gun from the back of their head. They can feel the cold metal of the weapon against their skull, and they keep themselves as still as possible. Getting shot in the head isn’t fatal, obviously, but it is  _ very  _ inconvenient, and they’d like to avoid having to deal with it so early in the morning.

“Come on, this really isn’t necessary.” They grumble, shifting their weight slightly, eyeing the closest door. The shop owner presses the gun harder against their head, and they hear his hiss of frustration.

  
“You stole from me. I don’t take kindly to thieves.” He growls, and they roll their eyes. They’re so caught up in trying to formulate a way to not get shot that they don’t notice the sound of quiet footsteps behind them. There’s the sound of a gun cocking, and they squeeze their eyes shut, ready for the momentary flash of pain, but it doesn’t come. There  _ is  _ the sound of a gun firing, and they wince, the sound painfully loud, especially with their sensitive Asgardian hearing. 

Slowly, Lyf lowers their hands, turning around. They’re greeted with a grinning Brian, still holding his gun. They relax, smiling back at him. From the look on his face, they assume he’s on EJM. He holsters his gun, brushing a stray strand of hair behind his ear. 

“Hey. Jack was looking for you.” Lyf chuckles, tugging their sleeve over their hand and wiping away the splatter of purple blood that drips down Brian’s cheek. It blends in with the deep wine red of their coat, so they don’t mind the stain. They glance down towards the shop keeper’s body, kicking it half-heartedly. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t move. Being shot in the head will do that to you.

“What did ae need?” Brian shrugs, absently dragging the shop owner behind the counter. 

“Dunno. Said ae needed some parts for the ship, and that you’d know where they are.” Lyf rolls their eyes. They mumble something about needing more information than that under their breath, but they do a mental search for shops nearby that have the basic things Jack might need. The engineer usually isn’t very picky about the parts ae gets, as long as they work long enough for them to make it till their next stop. 

After a few seconds, they locate one nearby, and they blink quickly to clear their vision, wrinkling their nose at the faint rainbow imprint that shimmers behind them as they step forwards. Jack waits outside the shop, whistling something to aerself. Lyf recognizes it as one of the songs Brian had taught aer. They elbow aer lightly in the side, laughing. 

“You couldn’t find your own mechanic’s shop? You had to rely on me?” Jack shrugs, gesturing for them to lead the way. They sigh dramatically, starting in the direction of the shop.  _ Aurora Mechanics _ , their mind helpfully supplies.

“Hey, it’s a lot easier to just ask you to use your brain dictionary, instead of wandering around a market for an hour looking for what I need.” Jack protests, and Lyf sighs, because ae  _ do _ have a point. 

\- 

It takes Lyf a moment to spot the shop, due to the lack of proper signage. After a second, though, they locate it, and they nudge Jack, inclining their head towards the door. Jack grins at them, shooting Lyf a thumbs up before ae disappears inside. Lyf chooses to stay outside the shop, leaning against the wall. Brian comes to stand next to them, raising an eyebrow as they dig a cigarette box from their coat pocket, shaking one out into their hand. They glance over at him, offering the box, but he shakes his head.

“No, thanks. Smoke fucks with my lungs, makes ‘em stick.” Lyf nods in understanding, and the two fall back into a comfortable silence as they light the cigarette, taking a long drag. They turn their head to the side, blowing it away from Brian. 

Inside the shop, they can hear Jack talking to someone, presumably whoever the owner of the shop is. They have a thick accent, though Lyf can’t exactly place it. It doesn’t sound like any they’ve heard before, although that doesn’t say much. Beside them, they can just barely hear Brian’s internal mechanisms start whirring faster, something they’ve started to associate with him being excited, or worked up in some way. They glance over at him, frowning. 

The other man’s eyes are locked on the door to the shop, his whole body tense. They nudge him slightly, and he tenses, gaze still fixed on the doorway. He seems to be listening, and as Lyf studies him curiously, they pick up the sound of Jack’s laugh, accompanied by what they assume is the shop owner laughing with aer. Brian’s gears whir even louder for a moment, enough that Lyf almost worries about him. 

They nudge him again, harder, and his head snaps towards them. It takes several seconds for his expression to clear, and he blinks hard. They cock their head questioningly, and he sucks in a long breath.

“That’s, uh… sorry. The shop owner, she sounds  _ so much  _ like an- an old friend, I think I malfunctioned there a little.” Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Lyf nods in understanding, expression sympathetic. Brian was hesitant to talk about his old crew members, so Lyf didn’t know much about them, other than what they’d learned from passing comments the other man made, as well as whatever they’d picked up while they were supervising von Raum, Alexandria, and la Cognizi. They  _ did  _ know, however, that Brian misses his mates deeply, and regretted his decision to leave the remaining ones behind.

“Do you want to-?” They gesture vaguely towards the shop. They’d had their fair share of familiar experiences, back when they’d first escaped the Yggdrasil system, weeks spent spinning around frantically at every voice that they  _ swore  _ belonged to one of their mothers, or their sister, or one of their coworkers. They’d found that laying eyes on the person, confirming in their mind that it  _ wasn’t  _ them, while somewhat painful, also helped them. Brian hesitates for a long moment, before nodding.

“We should probably make sure Jack isn’t flirting with the poor owner too much as well,” Brian adds as they enter the shop, and Lyf hears ae laugh. 

“Oh give me  _ some  _ slack, Brian. I have common decency, unlike  _ you _ .” Brian snorts, rounding the corner to where Jack’s voice is coming from.

“I’ll have you know, I’m on MJE right now, so I have  _ plenty  _ of common decency-” He cuts himself off, and Lyf hears a gasp. They follow closely behind him, turning the same corner. They almost bump into him, startling.

“Brian, what-” Their gaze drifts towards the shop owner, and they blink, taken aback. Overall, she looks normal enough, but two things immediately stand out to Lyf. One; there’s a seemingly random chunk of metal strung around her neck on a leather cord. It’s meticulously polished, and obviously important to her in some way. Two; her hand is over her mouth, and she’s staring at Brian with an expression that looks halfway between shock, and something infinitely affectionate. There’s a solid 3 seconds of silence, before Brian speaks.

  
“ _ Nastya? _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> grammarly was giving me HELL bc of jacks pronouns as i was writing this it was so annoying gdhsgf

**Author's Note:**

> if you figure out which character chris is a reference to ill come to ur house and kiss u directly on the lips 💖


End file.
